Help the Troubadour Survive!
Another legendary Hollywood business is facing permanent closure due to the pandemic. The legendary Troubadour Club in West Hollywood may not survive…as LAtimes.com reports:
“For 60 years, the historic club the Troubadour has anchored the western edge of West Hollywood with live music. A perennial presence in Los Angeles live music since the Beatnik era, the club opened by Doug Weston has provided thousands of artists the opportunity to make magic on hallowed ground.
But as Gov. Gavin Newsom was recently laying out the stages by which businesses may be able to re-open, Christine Karayan, the club’s general manager, realized the seeming futility of the Troubadour’s plight. Newsom has announced that music venues will be among the last to open, in phase four.
“That means the middle to the end of next year to potentially open, and maybe a 25 percent cap” on crowd size, Karayan says. “I can’t foresee being able to ride this out like that.”
The Troubadour isn’t large: it has a general admission main floor with a small balcony and an upstairs V.I.P. area – and only holds 500 people. That was part of its charm.
Many legendary acts played the room as they were breaking out, but it was also a terrific spot for surprise performances by mega-stars as well.
The Troubadour has launched a GoFundMe page to help its staff amid the health emergency. The great news is that they’ve already gotten $70,000 raised on a $50,000 goal, but the more they can raise, the better their odds of coming back!
More information and their GoFundMe page can be found here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/troubadour-relief-fund
It would be a shame to lose another iconic Hollywood institution, especially one with such a storied music past:
The Troubadour was legendary as the place where member of The Eagles first met, and played backup for Linda Ronstadt as well…here is that story, when she first saw them while walking through the club:
The Troubadour was also the site of the notorious performance by The Smother Brothers, which was disrupted by a heckling John Lennon – it happened during his “Long weekend” in LA, and on this night he was joined by Singer Harry Nilsson…
Lennon later said he was just cheering them on, but it ended with the ex-Beatle being tossed out…here is that story:
I know there are so many businesses that need our help – we can’t support them all. Amoeba Records in Hollywood recently launched a “GoFundMe” page as well…
This Mecca for physical media has music of all eras and formats, plus books, movies and more! You can see that story here along with the link if you want to get involved:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/troubadour-relief-fund
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Let’s hope the amount raised so far is enough to save The Troubadour, and that great live music can return!
Categories: 70's Music, Art, Books / Media, Classic Rock, Exotic Travel, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Music, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities, The Beatles, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, TV Show
johnrieber 
Oh, now that’s a National institution! I wish there was a way to for LA to classify it as an historical marker. Social History, Pop Culture, matter!
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That’s a great point Cindy!
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Such a shame. Love the backstories!
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Thank you for reading…it’s only a few miles from my house and it’s a great place to see music!
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Lucky you!
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That is one place that can truly claim to be ‘legendary’. I hope they raise enough cash to ride out the eventual ‘return to normal’.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, it seems their effort has done well so far…such a great , intimate place to hear live music…better to go there with 500 people than cram into a 50,000 seat arena!
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((((
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Oh man, this would be a terrible loss. I’ve never been, but I’ve always dreamed of a visit. Thanks for sharing!
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It’s a GREAT place to hear music,,,thanks for reading these posts and commenting – always great to hear from you!
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Such a shame, John. It is so sad to hear these stories as these places will probably never reopen.
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Robbie, for every one of them that gets attention with stories like this, a hundred other don’t///a really economic catastrophe underway to be sure…
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I know … it is frightening.
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